Today, on the Ed Morrissey Show (3 pm ET), we have a great show in store for you. First, we’ll talk with former New York Sun managing editor Ira Stoll about his new book, Samuel Adams: A Life. Next, Michael Steele joins us for the first time to talk about his candidacy for the chair of the RNC, the direction of the party, and the challenge for the next two years! Don’t miss a minute of it!

Update: I apologize, but Lt. Governor Steele had an emergency at his law firm and won’t be available to appear live on today’s show.  I’m going to interview him later and podcast it this evening at Hot Air.  I’m working on a replacement guest ….

Update II: Michael Stickings from the Canadian liberal blog The Reaction joins me as my second-half guest. We’ll talk about the always-entertaining politics in Ottawa, and get the Left’s perspective on Obama’s cabinet choices.

Now you can join the conversation in the chat room! Be sure to register at Ustream to participate in our raucous live-chat sessions. (And if the log-in prompt doesn’t come up in the chat box below, use this link instead.) Jazz Shaw of The Moderate Voice moderates the chat, and he has his Troll Gun Trivia Contest running before the show, for those who get there early — and are registered!

Want to see all episodes of The Ed Morrissey Show? Add the RSS feed to your reader and keep them handy!

Christmas season is coming! Why not shop through my Amazon widgets? Get great deals delivered to your door. Check out Ed’s Bookshelf or search for what you want:

Opening animation from TG Studios.